3 Programs That Lose Out in Obama's Defense Budget

The Obama administration released its budget and strategy documents this week, spelling trouble for some military programs. Not that many are at risk of cancellation, though: The $708 billion 2011 Pentagon budget is $18 billion higher than 2010's. (It calls for $33 billion in supplemental funding for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, something candidate Barack Obama railed against during his campaign.) Still, Gates and Obama took some programs to task, and killed one outright. Here's a rundown of some of the losers.

1. F-35 LIghtning II (Joint Strike Fighter)

1. F-35 LIghtning II (Joint Strike Fighter)

Defense Secretary Robert Gates has taken no pains to hide his dislike of the F-35 program. The stealth multirole fighter could become one of the world's finest warplanes, but its development lags behind schedule and the plane is not seen as an urgent need against guerrilla enemies who don't have sophisticated radar networks. This budget season, Gates proved his malice by firing the F-35 program manager Brig. Gen. David Heinz and refusing to release $614 million in performance bonuses to the F-35's lead manufacturer, Lockheed Martin. The budget has $10.7 billion slated to buy 23 F-35As for the Air Force F-35As and 20 F-35C jump-jet variants for the Navy. That is nine airplanes lighter than last year's allotment.

2. CG(X) NExt-Generation Cruiser

2. CG(X) NExt-Generation Cruiser

When it comes to U.S. Navy ships, stealth and the ability to knock down missiles are vital jobs. The CG(X) --a next-generation cruiser warship--was supposed to replace the Ticonderoga class cruisers that the administration wants to deploy in greater numbers to the Middle East and Asia to counter missile threats. Those ships have AEGIS systems that can track multiple aerial foes and kill them with missiles. The CG(X)'s umbrella of air defenses would likewise protect a carrier group or fleet from missiles and airplanes, but it had a radar-defeating hull design, electric propulsion and powerful radar. The ship's design is based on that of a futuristic destroyer the Navy is designing; the cruiser would have been a larger and better armed version, but some military planners argued that advances in Chinese ballistic antiship missiles made the design inadequate. The DD(X) and CG(X) were announced in 2001 and have suffered development problems--this year's budget keeps funding for three next-gen destroyers, built at a price of about $3.3 billion each. But the Navy may never get the CG(X) underway, or even get the chance to settle on an official design.